Expert: Matt - 10/14/2009

Question
My son is an ex-athlete high school and college athlete of 6'4" 240lbs. He has been trying to join the US Marine Corp since February 2009. He has been visiting his recruiting officer for the past 8 months but getting no firm decision even though he tested high on the entrance test. As a kid he was diagnosed with slight symptoms of ADD and took medicine for this in elementary school and high school...but that ended 3-4 years ago. He was told he would go to boot camp in July and to get in shape. After losing weight and getting in better shape he went to DEP in around May and was asked about his prior ADD symptoms. He promptly secured the requested additional doctor's reports and letters of recommendation from work, neighbors and even the mayor of our city who has known my son since my son's birth. Still no decision. My son kept calling and visiting the recruiter and the boot camp date slipped to December 2009. Recently he was told he probably would not go until June 2010 as they have to give priority to the graduating high school class. What??? My wife and I have tried to support and guide our son since it was his decision to join the Marines; and, he remains very interested but I fear the level of excitement may be waining since he feels like he is being jerked around. I asked if I could interceed on my son's behalf and with his permission spoke with the recruiter and the office NCOIC. Today I learned that my son my be disqualified due to a "3P" (???) since the local medical staff can't make the decision. The NCOIC told me they are now sending the file to the Board of Medicine for review. What would you recommend? My wife and I have begun to question whether its the recruiting office or just the proverbial "hurry-up-and-wait" syndrom. As a final note my wife's family is career Navy including 3 generations of Academy grads so its even more frustrating to them that this process is so lengthy. Your advice is appreciated.

Answer
I get many questions regarding overall frustration at the recruting process. My process was long, but I could see progress and never felt I was being 'jerked around' as you put it. Im sorry to hear of this situation because it seems unecessary. You did the right thing by talking to the recruiters, you being a parent (and not the recruit) gives you leverage and youre not afraid of stepping on their toes, so kudos to you for that, most parents that write me havent already taken that crucial step. With all that said, the situation seems to be at a standstill. If I were you I would tell them that you are withdrawing his application unless you can speak to his OIC face to face or on the phone. There really is no reason this should take this long. Of course hurry up and wait always happens; but to keep someone on the fence about a medical issue (which doesnt seem like much of an issue at all to me) is crazy. Ask your son if he has done anything at all that could make them not want to enlist him; sometimes they stall when there is an issue. Get back to me and Ill do my best to help.